Rain
by BritishAlien
Summary: A short one shot based on the 'Rain' fan trailer made by John Smith on Youtube. It is phenomenal. Check that video out! I hope you enjoy!


Based on the fan trailer 'Rain' made by John Smith on Youtube.

Here is the link to it if you have not already seen it.

watch?v=-lBeV5bQW70

-x-x-x-

She could hear the rain as it fell on the little wooden box. Every drop rang around the console room and echoed. It sounded like they had been caught in a forest during a thunderstorm. The canopy of the TARDIS, at once, was protecting them from the rain, whilst allowing the natural hum of water to dance around the air. Clara allowed herself to fall into the sound. It was comforting and beginning to live up to the hype that the Doctor had described when he first suggested this trip. He had wanted to take her to the rain since he regenerated. It had seemed like a memory that had been locked away for so long and was now available and begging him to live again in his new form.

Clara had been sitting in the console room for about an hour, watching the Doctor staring hopefully at the machinery as he tried, for the hundredth time in the last few weeks, to coax the TARDIS into obedience. The Doctor had been focussed on the console, watching as each control did its job; the energy behind his technical instruction perfectly hitting the end of its motion and moving on to the next link in the chain. He had tried to steer them towards this little wish of his for a few weeks but, whenever he tried to do so, it seemed that the TARDIS had other ideas. Whisking them off to where they were needed. This little dream could wait.

But now, for one glorious moment, the universe was silent and the man who sought to protect it was not needed. In this moment, he had been able to complete the sequence of dial twists and lever pulls necessary to get them to this captured memory. According to the Doctor, the rain wasn't a planet. It wasn't even a real place. It didn't exist in the reality of the universe, whatever that meant.

It had been after their first adventure and after chips that the Doctor had first suggested the trip to the rain. He had prefaced it with an old Time Lord fairy tale that still wrapped itself around his hearts whenever something monumental and life changing occurred. It had been something, before he left Gallifrey that fascinated him and kindled his curiosity. It was for that reason that he felt so passionate about this particular journey and why Clara was so ready to listen.

The story had begun with experiments done by the Time Lords back in the early times. They had gained control over time and had forced the process of regeneration into their DNA. It had been a time of great scientific advancement and with that came great responsibility. Those in charge decided that such a burden required rational thought processes to be able to determine the best outcome for them and the entire universe for they stood at its peak. It was decided that what threatened the balanced thinking of all Time Lords was their capacity to succumb to their thoughts, feelings and emotions and so, in this time of great scientific investigation, experiments were conducted to extract emotions and feelings from a select group of the Time Lord elite. The legend went that, whilst in some cases Time Lords just became less emotional; it was a complete triumph for many with the physical essence of emotions and feelings being extracted from the test subjects and stored in a corporeal form external to the body of their originators. The Time Lords had created pure emotionless beings that could make logical decisions about what to do with their great powers. They celebrated and continued to breed Time Lords with less or no emotions. They said it was better that way.

So off they went and made their choices and changed the universe but it was never explained what happened to the extracted emotions. It was rumoured that the pure emotional forms had been locked away in deep darkness so that they could never escape. These forms had not decided to make people feel. They had just been a part of nature and had been ripped by the teeth from the experiences of a people who thought themselves better off. They were left to rot and die.

After many millennia, a curious young Time Lord learnt of these figures and did not take them to be just stories. Along with a young friend from the Academy, the young Time Lord staged a plan to break into the deep darkness and see what was there. They managed to slip through into the forgotten under-realms of Gallifrey and found the emotions, still alive, languishing in the deepest, most secure dungeons of the Capitol precinct. His friend argued that the release would be discovered and they would be hunted and killed. The young Time Lord, however, disagreed and said that, out of an entire race of people who had conquered the stars, if only two people knew of the real existence of these beings, then they could go free without consequence. In his ignorant youth, he had said: 'Who hunts down a memory?'

And so, the young Time Lord freed the emotions, thinking his world devoid of care. The figures of emotion and feeling, similar to those of the Seven Deadly Sins in Earth culture, fled Gallifrey and wandered the universe trying to find a planet on which to settle for eternity and live in peace.

Many worlds knew of the legend and, being in the age of superstition, cast the beings out whenever they were discovered living in some remote outcrop in the outer edges of society. After many years, the beings decided that their physical journey was at an end and their effectiveness was compromised. They were pointless beings and their existence was merely causing chaos. It was better if they ended everything and tried to become better as the Time Lords had tried to do all those years before. So, in a ceremony performed in order to save them, they turned into air and drifted around the universe. They filtered themselves into the atmosphere of every world and were breathed in by every race. The universe once again began to care. It was said that places like the rain are just the echoes of those feelings and emotions drifting through the universe.

-x-x-x-

'Is it a real story?' Clara enquired as the Doctor had, for the first time in relating his story, settled back into his leather armchair. This Doctor had made much more use of the library, which Clara approved of, and they would often sit by the fireplace and read together. At the start of his life, often in silence, but as the pair became used to one another again, the Doctor began to tell tales and Clara would sit and eagerly listen, draped around her own chair, just listening to his calming Scottish accent unwind the universe.

'Don't be silly. It's a fairy tale specifically constructed to answer the unknown for the inquisitive young children who have starlight in their hearts. These places are probably like when a record gets stuck on the same part of a song.' He said turning to the fireplace and looking deep into its heart. 'And anyway, since when have you heard of any Time Lords going against the grain?' He winked at her and Clara smiled.

-x-x-x-

The TARDIS had landed with a relieved sigh, her engines almost silent so as to allow the sound of the rain to swell. The smile on the Doctor's face grew as they finally landed. The central gallopiter froze and the sound of the rain poured in. They had arrived. He would finally be able to show Clara the rain. It had only been a few weeks for them, but it had felt like he had wanted to go there since he had first set eyes on the universe. This visit was as much for him as it was for his impossible girl.

He had always found the rain to be relaxing. Standing in the downpour and just letting it soak into your skin. It was a complete sensory experience and it was one which, in this body, he felt he could indulge in. He sneaked a quick glance at Clara who was wandering around the room staring at the ceiling and listening to the rain fall. His smile grew. She was falling under its spell. The human senses were initially more receptive than a Time Lords. This sensory immersion would overwhelm the human mind before receding and allowing the person to consciously take stock of the situation. Clara would feel lost in it before awakening to its true beauty. The Doctor envied her that initial experience, but as soon as he walked out of the door and let his defences drop, he too would know what it felt like to be truly lost.

'We're here.' The Doctor confirmed, somewhat amazed that the words had left his mouth.

'You…you go on. I'll be with you in a sec.' Clara stuttered, trying not to break stride from her aimless wander around the room. She was too engrossed in the musical echoes that filled the TARDIS console room. The Doctor smiled, his eyebrows raised in happiness at seeing his impossible girl so gloriously lost. He beamed a toothless smile at her before turning to the main doors. The ones that led everywhere. He could go out on his own and experience what he had only heard rumoured.

He walked up the gangplank, hearing his footsteps clank against the metal. This was it. Finally, he was going to set foot in the most beautiful…experience in the universe. He paused, looking at his feet before, with a deep calming breath, he pulled the doors apart. They creaked open and allowed the sound of gushing water to fill the air and sent a cold breeze hurtling into the TARDIS console room. The Doctor felt the wind caress his face and run through his hair. Making contact with his eyes so that they welled up to protect him from the cold.

He was met with a sight more beautiful than anything he had encountered until then. Blank rain fell onto a lake-like surface and pooled around the TARDIS. The Doctor reached his hand out and felt the raindrops tickle his hand and begin to soak into the cuffs of his coat. It was cooling and completely indulgent. He clenched his hand so as to press the water into his palm. He would feel every second of this.

He went one step forward carefully as he battled with his senses. His eyes told him that he was about to step onto a pool of water which he would fall into, only to be swallowed up and made to swim. But his mind knew otherwise. The water would hold him. It would keep him safe. He placed one foot on the rippling surface only to watch as his touch made the water frolic. He smiled. He placed his foot down more firmly and brought his other out to meet it. He was now completely outside.

He walked into nothing. Feeling the rain soak into every part of his body. His hair was drenched and he could feel it begin to stick more firmly to his head. His clothes began to feel heavy and clingy as the rain soaked in. He spun, holding his arms out wide, so as to accept the rain and let it wash over him. He felt so natural and so free. It was like nothing he had ever experienced. He was glad he had waited so long. It had definitely been worth it.

He stopped spinning as he caught a glance of his young companion in the doorway of the TARDIS. She had escaped from her wandering and now stood, marvelling at the old Time Lord as he experienced something so simple and yet so fulfilling. The Doctor offered out his hand to her. His new face inviting her with all the hopeful fervour of his last. Clara hesitantly stepped out onto the water and walked to the Doctor's side. They both turned to watch the mountain that peaked its way from behind the rain. It stood so tall and strong in the forever falling rain. A symbol of stability in change. As the water fell, the Doctor, for once in his long life, at last felt calm.

-x-x-x-

Thank you so much for reading. I hope that you enjoyed it. x


End file.
